Peter Parker must once again balance his personal life against that of his Spider-Man persona as the two become intertwined.

What You Need to Know

Parker and his (possible?) sister Teresa join forces with the Human Torch against the dastardly duo of the Kingpin and an exo-suit-equipped Tinkerer! Why the two of them are partners remains to be seen, but apparently Spidey and his friends seem to have interrupted some sort of scheme the two of them have hatched, although it’s not exactly clear what that might be. The Kingpin doesn’t seem to be overly concerned with the appearance of the heroes; he’s more concerned with Tinkerer being unable to resist the urge to fight said heroes and cause damage to Kingpin’s penthouse.

What You’ll Find Out

Somebody inside S.H.I.E.L.D. is setting Teresa up for something. A picture taken of them with the Human Torch gets sent around to every reporter and blogger in New York with a vested interest in Spider-Man with the hope of capturing Teresa. This includes longtime Spider-Man detractor J. Jonah Jameson, who goes to his oldest friend and editor of the Daily Bugle Robbie Robertson to team up. There’s very little detail, only that anyone associated with either Peter Parker or his “bodyguard” Spider-Man is in danger, and finding a safe place for Teresa to hide will be a tough task, and their search for assistance does not end well.

What Just Happened

Spider-Man and Teresa sought aid from one person that they believed would give them the best chance to remain safe while they came up with a plan. Unfortunately, one of Spider-Man’s oldest foes was already there. In a complete coincidence (?) this villain was aiding the Tinkerer against his own brother Mason, who aids heroes by making gear for them, such as Spidey’s web-shooters and a gun that Teresa used in combat against the Tinkerer, which gave him the motivation to go after Mason in the first place.

Rating: 8/10

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed seeing Spider-Man attempt stand-up comedy (and fail miserably) despite the fact that he’s consistently been one of the funniest characters for the past five and a half decades or so. The art was excellent and the character interaction was great. The title of the issue was a great pun on the Tinkerer’s exo suit, and I’m a sucker for puns, especially when they come from Spider-Man.